Richard J. Kent '34 | Frederic Cassidy '30 | Tom Linehan | William Brashear '68

Richard J. Kent had served the College for many years as a member of the Board of Trustees. A gifted student, he graduated from Oberlin magna cum laude in 1934 as a member of Phi Beta Kappa and graduated from Columbia University with a law degree in 1937. He entered a law firm in 1941, but during World War II was called upon to serve with the 1st Air Division, stationed in England, as an attorney in the Judge Advocate General's office. He ended his military career in 1946 with the rank of major and returned to the practice of law. In 1950 he joined the Bethlehem Steel Corporation and was president of its railroad subsidiaries. He retired in 1974.

Grateful to his alma mater for the career success he had achieved, Mr. Kent gave generously to Oberlin College. Known for his exuberant love of life--especially good food, nature, and the arts, his charm and infectious sense of humor endeared him to many and won him long-lasting friends. Mr. Kent died after a prolonged illness at age 87 on June 8, 2000, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He is survived by his second wife, Eone Goodenough Harger '33; two daughters, including Suzanne Kent '70; and a son, Richard Kellogg Kent '75.